The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have conducted a study that finds that medically important antibiotics that the EPA wants to re-approve for expanded pesticide use on crops can facilitate antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Those pathogens pose "urgent" and "serious" threats to human health. The results of this study were obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity under the Freedom of Information Act. Those dangerous antibiotic resistant-bacteria include MSA, nightmare bacteria (Cabapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), and Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus. Those pathogens cause more than 100,000 infections and 13,000 deaths every year in the United States. Nathan Donley, a senior scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement, "It’s … [Read more...]
EPA Wants to Spray Antibiotics to Stop Citrus Greening Disease
Advocates from environmental and public health groups have delivered a petition to the Environmental Protection Agency asking them to delay a proposal to spray antibiotic on citrus fields to treat a pathogen that causes citrus greening disease, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. Advocates think that this action could make bacterial antibiotic resistance worse. Citrus greening is a bacterial disease. Florida citrus trees are being destroyed by this pathogen and have been for more than 10 years. The pathogen is spread through an invasive insect. The bugs move through the tree's vascular tissue under the bark. Steven Roach, a senior analyst at Keep Antibiotics Working, said of the plan,"They are doing a huge experiment with limited monitoring." Officials estimate that … [Read more...]
